Infiltration
by Alexandria McLane
Summary: In this Alternate Universe of Mass Effect. Commander Jane Shepard has a thing for Turians. She always did. But there is one Human who wants to change all of that. Will he be able to change her mind? This also follows the plot of the first Mass Effect game. Commander Jane Shepard. Earth born, Sole Survivor, Vanguard.
1. Chapter 1

On the bridge of the Normandy SR-1 sat the ship's pilot, affectionally named Joker, with the ships third in command, Kaidan Alenko. Joker was taking him through the last of the controls of the Normandy, as the resident councilor Spectre, Nihlus, walked onto the bridge. He was there to check on the ship's status. Behind Nihlus was the ship's second in command, or XO, Jane Shepard.

"All systems online. Drift…" Joker said. "Just under 1500 k, right?" Kaidan finished for him, and shot his long time friend, Jane, an award-winning smile. As the XO, Jane has already had this training under her belt in case she was left in charge. "1500 is good. Your captain…" Nihlus said standing tall, also looking at Jane with his mandibles slightly clicking. "…will be pleased" he finished, before smiling at Jane.

Just before he turned to leave, Nihlus let his three talons, brush across Shepard's five fingers. Jane lifted her chin slightly to catch his eyes, and the spark between them would have electrocuted any human to death. To the humans, this gesture would not have been a big deal. Many Turian's did not have a human fetish, and no human in history had ever had a Turian fetish. However, for Kaidan, whom had been 'chasing' Shepard since their boot camp days, it was a challenge.

"They don't send Spectres on shakedown runs," Joker blurted after Nihlus was out of earshot. Kaidan shook his head out of his thoughts, and focused. "He sounds angry, something must have gone wrong with the mission". Shepard hardly heard what they said, as she was looking back at where Nihlus just was, lost in her memory of when she first met him.

_She and Kaidan had been in the same military boot camp program. They were a month away from the highly anticipated, "War Games" which essentially placed the new recruits into their intended careers. Jane was hoping to be chosen for the N7. She was in the gym working off some steam when the handsome Turian, only known as, Nihlus was watching her from afar. _

_Shepard was so lost in herself and her anger. She thought, 'How dare they look at Kaidan as the captain for our team. I am twice the solider he is, I can shoot better, run faster, and make better decisions". She hit the bag harder. _

_Left hook._

_Right hook._

_Duck._

_Back kick._

_Jab._

_She kept going harder, faster, and all the time getting angrier with herself. She knew why Kaidan was chosen. He was the top of the class. He had better scores in all of his practical tests, and he moved better in combat with his biotics. She also knew that he was a shoe in for the N7 program._

_ Nihlus propped himself against a beam with his arms crossed in the way someone who was intrigued, or about to make a wise crack would. He watched Shepard carefully, calculating her speed, strength and agility. He liked what he saw, but he also saw a fire in her eyes that only people in his line of work had. He approached Shepard, and was stunned when he was thrown into the wall behind him by Shepard's singularity. _

_ He coughed and regained his composure a bit amused. "That was impressive. I will remember to not sneak up behind a pissed off biotic unarmed again" he said. _

_"Oh my god, I am so sorry sir. See I thought you were, well, someone else coming to gloat in, uhh, well its not important. Are you hurt?" Jane babbled as she ran toward Nihlus to help him up. He allowed her to help him; it was a way to size her up. _

_ As Jane helped Nihlus to his feet she noticed his strong jaw, and his copper color. She knew the N7 program brought in a Spectre every now and then to help in random skills. Hell, she even knew a few Turians that the program had employed to help in combat. However, this handsome Turian before her was not any shade of grey that she had seen before. He was a pristine copper-red. They same color she insisted on dying her hair to prove she was different. _

_ Whatever Nihlus was saying to her right now was utterly lost as she gazed upon this fine specimen. "Do you even care about being the best?" was all it took for her to come out of her trance. "Uhh, yeah, sorry. What?" She stuttered as her cheeks flushed. On any other Turian, this simple human gesture would have been lost, but to Nihlus, who found beauty in strength, will, and determination, this was the only thing he needed to pursue his infatuation further._

"Joker. Status report" boomed through the bridge. Anderson's bellowed voice awoke Jane from her memories. Slightly embarrassed she fixed her posture, and looked to Kaidan to see if he had noticed she was out of it. Fortunately for her, he was too focused on getting his piloting training done. She simply turned on her heel and followed Nihlus to the debriefing room.

Kaidan watched her as she went after Nihlus. "Don't really like him do you? Well neither do I. Spectre's always mean trouble" Joker stated. Kaidan just looked at his friend, and shrugged. "Right now, I just want to get this finished so I can go back to my duties", he said solemnly. "What are your duties exactly? Following the Commander around like a lost puppy dog?" Joker teased. Kaidan's focus was gone as he was remembering the first time he laid eyes on Shepard.

_Kaidan had just finished cleaning his barracks. Boot camp wasn't at all like he thought it would be. When he had read up about it, he was under the impression that it was all physical training to get you ready for the military. Then again his resources were grossly outdated. This boot camp was as much an intellectual thing as it was a physical thing. _

_ Then he saw her. The most beautiful woman he has even seen in his life. She was sweeping the dirt out of her barracks, and then stopped to look at the sky. She had the most interesting color hair. It was the strangest red that looked purple in the sunlight. She had the greenest eyes that he had ever seen in his life. Kaidan was mesmerized, intrigued and suddenly walking directly to her. _

_ "Hey, couldn't help but notice that you were stuck on cleaning duty too" Kaidan began. All that Jane did was smile at him and finish her sweeping. "I'm Kaidan," he said forcefully, throwing his hand practically into hers. "Shepard" she said amused. "What no first name?" he inquired. "No, its just Shepard" she said grabbing her broom. Kaidan knew that no matter what happens at boot camp, he wanted to know her, and her first name._


	2. Chapter 2

Jane was standing in the debriefing room with Anderson and Nihlus. They were talking about Eden Prime. Jane remembered Eden Prime. She visited here once after boot camp before her N7 training had begun. She was told that it was a great place to just sit back and relax a vacation spot of sorts. She chuckled to herself as Nihlus was telling Anderson how beautiful the planet was. To her, Eden Prime was a paradise. It was calm, serene, tranquil, and safe and she had the time of her life while she stayed on Eden Prime.

_After she had set her things down, she noticed the view from the window. The rolling hills and mountaintops made her feel like she was in Europe. Jane walked out to the balcony and leaned over with her elbows on the railing. She wasn't thinking anything, just looking, feeling. She closed her eyes and just listened, and heard a distinct hum from behind before feeling the talons at her waist. Jane smiled and opened her eyes slowly falling back into Nihlus's chest. _

_ "The sight is breathtaking, but I have the better view" Nihlus hummed into her ear. Jane closed her eyes again. "Tell me again how a Spectre and a recruit find themselves together in such a paradise," she said listlessly. Nihlus swooped her up in his arms and carried her to the bedroom._

_" I think it has something to do with a certain recruit being angry and letting a punching bag really have it"._

_"Well, that punching bag was Kaidan's head"._

_"The better solider won in the end, in more ways than one." Nihlus said as he placed her down in the bedroom. Jane sat on the edge of the bed, and Nihlus sat next to her gently running his talons through her hair. "A certain Spectre saw promise, and decided she needed extra training". _

_"Yeah, well, you could have warned me. On top of PT, formations, marksmanship, and academics you had me running, fighting, and strategizing at all hours. A girl needs her beauty sleep." Jane said, giving Nihlus a snide smirk. _

_"From where I sit, if that recruit got any more, 'beauty sleep' she would have been taken over by a certain biotic." He said lying back onto his elbows. Nihlus brought one leg up on the bed, and lounged looking at this amazing human woman. Jane followed suit and mirrored Nihlus. She chuckled at him._

_"Aren't Turians supposed to be disgusted by humans, you know, in that way"? She asked. She took her closest hand and gently rubbed the skin underneath his mandible. It sent chills down Nihlus's spine, and Jane smiled. Nihlus swiftly sat up and pulled Jane onto his lap. She was about to say something as Nihlus pressed his mouth to hers. Her arms instinctively went around his neck and rubbed small circles on his neck. He hummed into their kiss, and Jane moved to straddle his lap, fully facing him._

_ Nihlus let instinct take over. His hands found the bottom hem of her shirt and slipped underneath rubbing her soft back. Jane moved her hips against him, indicating that she approved. In a swift motion, Nihlus unhooked her bra, and before she knew it her short and bra were gone. Jane smiled, "look who is skilled now?" she teased. Nihlus growled and picked her up and laid her on the bed before unclasping his armor and joining her. He laid next to her, placing delicate kisses on her shoulder and arm while tracing small circles on her torso._

_"You know, any other man I have ever been with, after they discard the top half of my clothing start here", she said as she started to fondle her breast. _

_"Do I look like a man to you?" Nihlus said, continuing. Jane smiled, and closed her eyes continuing herself. Nihlus stopped kissing her skin and watched this beautiful woman tease herself. He removed his hand from her torso and delicately ran one talon between her legs to her other breast, before teasing it as well. Jane moaned softly, and that made Nihlus smile._

"Commander!" Anderson bellowed. He had a way of interrupting her memories. Jane shook her head, and blushed slightly. Nihlus looked at her a bit amused, knowing exactly where her thoughts went. "As I was saying, I think it is time to tell the Commander what is going on".

Nihlus shook his head. "This is not just a shakedown run. We're making a covert pick-up on Eden Prime". He stopped and looked at Jane's reaction to the news. As he expected, she wasn't overly surprised, but more intrigued. He had noticed with his time with Jane that when she was truly interested in something she cocked her head slightly to the right and placed her hand in her hair twirling it a bit. It was one of those 'human' things she did that Nihlus loved. "That's why we needed..."

"…the stealth systems operational", Jane finished with Nihlus. Anderson was somewhat taken aback. He had known they were close, but he had no idea they could finish each other's sentences. Along with the fact that what they both said were not something that anyone would just say. He began to wonder if there was more there than beats the eye. He looked at Jane expectantly. "I assumed something was going on. It's not every day a spectre comes aboard. Wait…" She stopped dead in her tracks and gave Nihlus a predatory glare. "You didn't? I told you not to." She said. Nihlus knew that look. He had known Jane for a long time now. She was not going to take this easy.

"This came down from the top. There was a reason we met after all. You were pinned from birth, due to your lineage to be…" Nihlus was saying looking at Anderson.

"Don't give me that bullshit! I told you to keep my name out of it!" Jane screamed. She was pacing back and forth trying to wrap her head around this. Nihlus wasn't just at boot camp to help train the recruits. He was planted there. She stopped suddenly which made both Anderson and Nihlus nervous.

"Look, Jane", Nihlus said, his sub-harmonics resonating an apologetic hum. However, Jane's eyes grew wide.

"It's Commander Shepard to you Spectre", she said with wild eyes. Nihlus looked at her carefully. Anderson knew at this point that this was just more than a mentor kind of relationship, and he looked at Nihlus with disapproving eyes. If anything, Commander Jane Shepard was basically his adopted daughter, and he looked out for her. As her father lay in his arms dying, he vowed to always look out for her no matter what.

Nihlus looked at Jane, the same Jane he had known from boot camp. He knew his mission was to prove that Shepard had emotions. He was told to bring them out, no matter what they were. He always went along his missions to do the best he could. He did not know that it would be so easy to love her. Instead of hurting her by telling her the truth behind his mission, he simply went along with it. He never really knew what it felt to be wanted. Now, he had ruined it all.

Knowing this was going to get out of control quickly, Anderson decided to segue the conversation back onto the mission. "A research team on Eden Prime unearthed some kind of beacon during an excavation. It was Protean. This is big, Shepard. The last time humanity made a discovery like this, it jumped out technology forward two hundred years. You will be going down on the surface with Alonso, and Jenkins. At this point, Nihlus will keep an eye on you", Anderson was explaining.

"With all due respect sir, I think I can handle myself and a small team without a babysitter", Jane said still glaring daggers at Nihlus. Nihlus let his mandibles click, and stood tall. He started to say her name, but coughed. "Commander, this is not me, babysitting, as you say. This is the final piece of the Spectre appointment. My reports have been about your ability, and while I know you will be fine. I still need to send that report". Jane thought about this, she knew in the back of her head that Nihlus was too good to be true. He was all about his missions, she knew that. She wondered if she was just another mission.


	3. Chapter 3

Kaidan knew his friend pretty well. Commander Jane Shepard was one of the best N7 Vanguards the Alliance had to offer. She had come into boot camp with cherry auburn hair, but when it quickly was changed to purple-like red color. He liked it. It was just like her personality, she was one-way when in battle, another when she wasn't. She had been raised on various cruisers, like the Normandy with both of her parents. Her father died when he and Captain Anderson were on a ground team together. She wouldn't say where. Just that Anderson was like her father now.

He knew on her first mission alone something went horribly wrong. She had pinged him after Akuze, and was never the same kind of person again. He also knew that Shepard was the best damn Vanguard he had ever seen. His biotics were better, with his L2 implant, to her L1. But he wondered if he really knew this Commander Jane Shepard that was standing in front of him.

Just as Shepard was about to open her mouth to debrief her team on their mission, their omni-tools pinged with a video from Eden Prime. Commander Shepard, Kaidan, and Jenkins all stood as still as a statue as they recognized their friend Ashley Williams, and the destruction on the planet below. Instead of giving a pep-talk, Shepard simply said, "Well, you see what we are walking into. Stay sharp, and keep focused".

Next to them in the Cargo hold, Nihlus was preparing himself to drop as well. Kaidan had noticed that they were, a little friendly, on the bridge. Now, he couldn't tell if Shepard wanted to kill Nihlus, or if Nihlus wanted to kill her. "Nihlus? You're coming with us?" He said, before he even realized the words were out of his mouth. "No, I move faster on my own" Nihlus simply stated. Under her breathe but just loud enough for Kaidan and Nihlus to hear, Jane said, "Yeah, I bet". Nihlus moved in front of Shepard forcing Kaidan to move back. Jenkins took hold of Kaidan saying that this was a personal conversation, and he couldn't hear anything else.

"Jane! Enough of this! You knew I was going to put your name in to be a Spectre after Akuze". Jane flinched at the mention of it. "You knew damn well that because of who your parents are, that you would be up for something like this. Don't you dare let this cloud your judgment down there. You saw the vid". He said. Jane looked at him and blinked a few times, and nodded. Then Nihlus was on Eden Prime.

Shepard looked back at her team. "Nihlus will scout out ahead. He'll feed our status reports throughout the mission; otherwise, I want radio silence," She directed. Kaidan nodded at her. The next thing he could remember would stay with him forever.

It wasn't the fact that Jenkins died three minutes into the mission. It wasn't that they found Ashley unharmed, or the civilians. It also wasn't the beings that were hollowed versions of humans. Nihlus called them husks. They would give him nightmares. It was Shepard, and her reactions. They were behind cover, watching as it all unfolded.

_ Most of what Nihlus had seen so far scouting ahead on Eden Prime was nothing new to the combat veteran he was. His years in the Turian Military tagged on to what he had seen as a Spectre had prepared him for many things, though how aggressive the Geth have been along with their new tech unnerved him to his core. His mandible twitched. _

_ Having seen the geth spikes, he thought, 'If whatever those spikes do that to humans, I'd hate to see what it would do to Turians', He thought grimly. Nihlus had to fight a few husks of what was left of the humans and a few geth that were in his immediate path, eluding the rest around the beacon site. His prime focus was the mission, and his mission was to get to that beacon. Skirting from cover to cover he looked up towards the cargo platform of the transit hub. For all the activity around it seemed oddly empty save for one target he saw in the distance. He thought of Jane, his Jane. He saw her face, and her beauty willed him to be a better Turian._

_ He started do move more silently and swiftly letting his Spectre training take over. He moved closer and closer before putting his back to the wall on the ramp leaning up to the landing bay. His talons gripped his weapon naturally getting ready for combat before swinging out and marching up to his target taking aim before surprise overtook him. Lowering his weapon his mandibles slacked slightly in wonder at whom he saw, "Saren?!" _

_ A Turian in light grey armor with various cybernetics trailing not only going from place to place on his armor, but also on himself from past injuries turned slowly around their eyes meeting. A calm and almost chilling voice greeted him, "Nihilus."_

_ The two seeming comrades in arms walked up to each other as Nihilus relaxed his stance fully seeing his old friend, "This isn't your mission Saren what are you doing here? Last I heard you were systems away." _

_ A smile crossed Sarens face as he put his hand on Nihilus's shoulder to reassure him things were fine and how they should be; "With what is going on the Council thought you could use some help on this one." Patting his shoulder he slowly walked past Nihilus seeing his fellow Turian looking off in the distance seeing the destruction of the ship ports of Eden Prime. Then he noticed her. "Oh, so you brought your pet along. I had heard you had a human fetish. Does she know she was a mission? Or did you actually think someone cared for you?" Saren egged on. _

_ Nihlus looked over to the cover where Jane was. His sub-harmonics rumbled with threat to his mate. "It seems like I need it. I wasn't expecting to find the Geth here. Maybe Batarians but this situation is bad." His gaze shifted over to her. Had he just threatened Nihlus as if Jane was his mate? He shook his head and glanced at the horizon as he noticed something strange, "What is that?" _

_ "Don't worry…" Saren shifted his weight his hand gripping his M-6 Carnifex as the weapon folded and shifted from its resting position into its pistol mode. Wrapping his finger off the trigger he turned, "I've got everything under control". Leveling the barrel at the back of Nihilus's skull at the distance aiming right below his crests he squeezed the trigger. "Your "mate" will be well taken care of, I assure you."_

Kaidan knew Shepard had a relationship with the Turian Spectre, but he had hoped it wasn't anything serious. However, It was at this moment that time seemed to stop. The horizon wasn't blue anymore. It was as if the world was in a sepia tone, like an old movie.

Saren left, and Nihlus lay there dying. Shepard ran to him, cradled his head and her heart screamed. "Nihlus! Nihlus, I am here. Don't let go. I need an evac down here NOW!" She screamed. Kaidan saw Nihlus reach up to her. He cradled her face.

"You weren't just a mission Jane. You were THE mission. My only mission." He said, as his voice grew weaker. "I love you, and intended to make you my mate". Jane wasn't crying she was just looking down at his face. That's when it happened. Nihlus's hand dropped, and his body went limp. Jane looked at him for a moment, and whispered, "I love you too Nihlus, watch over me."

Kaidan looked into Shepard's eyes as she walked over to him. He saw anger; no it was something stronger than that. He was unbridled hate. Whatever Saren unleashed in her by killing Nihlus, Kaidan was happy it wasn't him. Then a thought crossed the back of his mind. 'I will be the one to pick up the pieces from this. Then she will love me.'


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Road Less Traveled

The last thing Commander Jane Shepard remembered was a strange voice. She had understood the strange voice, but couldn't quite place it. She awoke with a throbbing headache and a heavy heart. She sat up sharply, and regretted that decision. The medbay and Dr. Chakwas were spinning around her. It wasn't even one of those nice, 'I am buzzed' kind of spinning's. This was the kind where she knew her life just took a severe left turn down some dark alley. Then she heard Dr Chakwas.

"I had to lock the medbay doors to keep Kaidan from checking in on you every five minutes". Jane looked at her confused. "How long was I out?" She asked. "Well, we docked at the citadel about an hour ago. So, two days." The good doctor said. Jane swung her legs to the side, rubbing her head and focusing her eyes to make the world less spinny.

"Not so fast Commander. How do you feel?" Chakwas asked. Jane looked up at her. Her heart was unbearably heavy, and suddenly she felt that she was lost in some kind of dark alleyway. Jane knew something bad was going to happen. She smiled to herself, and then it hit her, "I shall be telling this with a sigh. Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference." She quoted. Dr. Chakwas looked at her thoughtfully. "You know, had I not delivered you and known your family and your history, that would have sounded not as great. But your love for Robert Frost is dually noted Commander". She said smiling and typing something on her omni-tool. "Either way, I detected some unusual brain activity. The kind that wouldn't have you quoting, 'The Road Not Taken', but the kind with abnormal beta waves". She said.

Jane's smile faded as the doctor that stood in front of her, the one she has known since birth, became serious. "I also noticed an increase in your rapid eye movement, signs typically associated with intense dreaming. Now I won't pretend to be a psychiatrist, but I am assuming this was not the road you were intending to take, was it Commander?" Chakwas said.

Shepard stood up, and looked out the window of the medbay to the empty mess. "I saw…" she started, but stopped. She looked down at her hands and turned around. Dr. Chakwas noted how the Commander paled as noticeably a horrid thought rose to her. Chakwas saw that Jane's shoulders slumped down suddenly like the weight of the world was on her. The good doctor wondered if it was the death of Nihlus that did this to Jane. However, before she could speculate further, Shepard continued, "I saw death, destruction, and an end. I saw…" she paused. "An end, but I don't know whose". She looked up at her beloved family friend. Chakwas looked at her, she wasn't the little Jane she had remembered, and right now she wasn't even the Commander Shepard she had grown quite accustomed to seeing. Dr. Chakwas was looking at a woman, a woman with a mission.

Sometime between talking to the council at the Citadel Tower, and meeting the C-Sec turian Garrus Vakarian. Jane had a strange feeling. She still had a raw spot in her heart where Nihlus was supposed to be. She closed her eyes and could swear she heard the gentle hum of his sub-vocals. Either way, she had a job to do and she hoped that looking at this new turian wouldn't divert her from her goal, get more evidence against Saren to convince the council.

Jane ended up quite successful. She even ran into Garrus again in the clinic, and recruited him to her cause. He had some glorified hero quality about him that made her pay attention. She rescued and recruited a quarian named Tali'Zorah Nar Rayya, and even a Krogan, Urdont Wrex. It wasn't until they had all settled on the Normandy that Jane stopped to reflect. "Commander Jane Shepard and her motley crew", she thought.

_The Asari Councilor spoke up first. "Commander Shepard, step forward." She said, "it is the decision of the council that you be granted all the powers and priveledges of the special tactics and reconnaisance branch of the citadel." _

_Jane's eyes grew wide. This wasn't happening. The Salarian councilor continued, "Spectres are not trained, but chosen." People started to gather around, "Individuals forged in the fire of service and battle, those whose actions elevate them above rank and file." _

_Jane looked behind her at the faces of Udina and Anderson. While Anderson beamed with pride, Udina looked ill. The Asari councilor spoke again, "Spectres are an ideal, a symbol." Kaidan and Ashley had huge smiles on their face. "The embodiment of courage, determination, and self-reliance. They are the right hand of the council, instruments of our will."_

_She looked at the rest of her motley crew. Garrus was shocked, Wrex looked indifferent and amused, and Tali? Well, Jane couldn't see what kind of look she had. She looked back at the council as the Turian councilor looked at her with fierce eyes. He knew about Shepard and Nihlus. His voice boomed through the tower, "Spectres bear a great burden. They are protectors of galactic peace, both our first and last line of defense. The safety of the galaxy is theirs to uphold." Jane noted the disapproving sub-vocals he was giving off. She wondered what her new turian recruit was thinking about that. She made a mental note to ask when they were back on the Normandy._

_Finally the Asari councilor finished, "You are the first human spectre, Commander. This is a great accomplishment for you and your entire species." Jane blushed, and quickly but confidently replied, "I am honored, councilors."_

Jane reflected on how her life had just changed. Maybe the road less traveled was the better one? She had convinced the council that Saren was looking for the conduit, with the help of Tali. She just had to convince herself that she could do it. Stepping onto the bridge with Joker smiling at her, and Anderson's heroic presence missing she gulped and order the Comm to be open. This was it, this would set the tone. Don't fuck this up Shepard.

"This is your Commander speaking. We have our orders: find Saren before he finds the conduit." She paused for dramatic effect. "And I refuse to let anything get in the way of that mission! We all know what happened on Eden Prime. We saw the destruction. We saw the bodies. We saw what Saren did, and I plan to make him pay!" When did her hand ball up into a fist? "For too long our species has stood apart from the others. Now it's time for us to step up and do our part for the rest of the galaxy! Time to show them what humans are made of! Our enemy knows we are coming. When we get into the traverse, Saren's followers will be waiting for us, but we will be ready for them, too." She stood taller, proud, and confident. "Humanity needs to do this. Not just for our own sake, but for the sake of every other species in citadel space. Saren must be stopped, and I promise you all...we will stop him!"

Chakwas smiled proudly, "That's my girl!"

Wrex balled up his fist and pumped it in the air.

Tali nodded.

Ashley and Kaidan stood tall and saluted.

Joker stood tall and proud.

And Garrus, he was in awe of how one person could inspire a Krogan, Quarian, and the entire race of Humanity to fight back for what was right.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: A Happy Crew is…

Jane retreated to her quarters after her spectre appointment and first speech as Commander of the Normandy. She wasn't really in the mood to do rounds yet. And her head was still thinking about losing Nihlus. In hindsight, she realized how dumb she was for fighting with Nihlus about what his real intentions were. She knew deep in her heart that what they had was real. After all, isn't that the best way to find your soul_mate_.

Leaning back in her chair, Jane put her feet up on her desk and let her thoughts wander further. Nihlus had taught her so much, and a part of her enjoyed the fact that her good friend Kaidan was annoyed by her choice to be with Nihlus. He had been chasing her since their time in boot camp. She found it cute at first, thinking or rather hoping, he would just move on after she did not display any interest.

_When Kaidan had watched Jane go through round after round as she shot her Brawler II. He wasn't impressed at her accuracy, or how she managed to fire so many rounds without overheating the gun. He was impressed at the way the light caught her on the range. _

_As Kaidan stood afar, he thought, 'There she was a vision of beauty'. Jane's hair was an interesting hue of reddish purple, and her stance was predatory. She was focused, and exquisite. He knew she was the best damn solider he had ever come across, and her legs went on for days. He couldn't focus, and wouldn't dare look away. Then he saw reality, and it slapped him across the face. That turian spectre the Alliance brought in, he was touching Jane, HIS Jane. He watched as Nihlus stood behind Jane, arms reaching around her holding the pistol with her. He thought, 'Lucky son of a bitch!'_

_Jane had been unaware that anyone was watching her, besides Nihlus. Then she caught Kaidan's eye. She smiled slyly remembering the conversation she had with Nihlus earlier that day._

"_Are you sure your friend won't mind? I mean when I first met you, you were beating the crap out of the punching bag because of him." Nihlus said._

"_Who? Kaidan? No, he has some sort of fixation on me. He is like a brother to me. We challenge each other so that we can be the best that we can be." She commented._

"_Well, you know that when he is around you seem to give off a different kind of pheromone." "What?" Jane said taken off guard._

"_Turians, we have a better sense of smell. Part of what makes you so sexy when your angry" he said smiling. Jane's mouth fell open, and Nihlus could see that she was trying to talk, or form words, but nothing came out. "It's ok, I didn't know if you had any interest in him or not."_

She sat up, 'was there any interest there?' She pondered. Whatever it was, she found herself strangely drawn to Kaidan. She knew she felt deeply for him because he made her a better solider, but was there something more there? Jane's musings brought her to one simple fact that made her chuckle, he certainly was human, not turian. The question was, did she find humans as attractive as she found turians?

At that thought Jane was brought back to the real world and her mission to find Saren. She had just recruited a very eclectic group of aliens, and that thought warmed her soul. She barely knew any of them, but she felt like she had known them for years. If she had learned anything in her N7 training, it was that you got better results when your crew was happy. Looking around her quarters, and back down at her mission reports, Jane slowly rose to her feet and decided it was time to come out of her isolation and do her rounds. "A happy crew is a lethal force" she said aloud, and headed for the cargo bay to start her rounds.

Jane Shepard had no idea who she would talk to first. She decided that once the elevator actually stopped moving at its snail pace, she would just survey the area and see where it took her. It didn't take long because as soon as the doors opened, Wrex looked over at her.

"Nice ship you've got here, Shepard", Wrex's booming voice came from her left. She smiled to herself and walked over to him.

"Well, you know it's the best the Alliance and Turians could do", she said nonchalantly.

"I don't trust a turian as far as I can throw him", Wrex said raising his voice and eyeing Garrus. Shepard's face turned in the direction that Wrex was referring to, but Garrus was completely underneath the Mako, and happily oblivious to the conversation going on.

"Oh? Is there more to this story?" She asked. Wrex chuckled menacingly. "There was this one time where the turians almost wiped out my entire race. That was fun."

"I guess the Turians had issues with everyone at one point or another. But, now I don't think they are so bad."

"I knew you would say something like that. You reek of turian". Wrex scoffed. Shepard tensed up, her mind quickly processing the information that Nihlus had once told her.

"I, uh, wasn't aware krogan had a keen sense of smell". Wrex looked at her plainly. Not amused, or even angry.

"Hey, what you do on your own time is no business of mine, besides what the Turians did to us, it's just not the same".

Jane perplexed at this statement, and Wrex continued, "Your people weren't infected with a genetic mutation where only a few in a thousand children survive birth." At this piece of information, Jane was appalled.

"Uhh, no we weren't".

"I don't expect you to understand, but don't compare humanity's fate with the Krogan".

Jane looked Wrex in the eye, "I wasn't trying to upset you, just trying to get to know you". Jane thought about the mantra, 'a happy crew is a lethal force' and chalked this meeting up to a loss. Wrex shook his head.

"Your ignorance doesn't upset me, Shepard. The Genophage may be affecting us, but it will not kill us". She thought about his words for a moment.

"Keep that resolve for our mission, and we will be just fine". Shepard said with a careful eye on the Krogan. Wrex shrugged her off and Jane tentatively walked over to Ashley Williams letting out an audible sigh.

"What's wrong skipper?" Ashley squeaked.

"Just wasn't expecting that," Jane said shrugging her shoulder to Wrex. Ashley's face followed and scrunched up.

"Permission to speak freely" Ashley asked tentatively.

"Granted, what's on your mind Williams?"

"It's just, I don't know why we had to recruit so many…" Ashley trailed off, and Jane knew where this was going. She heard of the infamous General Williams on Shanxi.

"Hey, look" Jane said placing a hand on Ashley's shoulder. Both of their faces softened. "Everybody I found has a purpose here". She motioned over to Garrus, "He was investigating Saren before we were even aware of who or what he was doing". She looked over at Wrex, "I am not quite sure what his past is with Saren, but he is hell bent on catching him too". Ashley chuckled slightly and Jane released her arm.

"Yeah, I don't want to be in his way in battle". Ashley said sizing up the Krogan.

"Me either, but look, be my eyes and ears down here Ash." This made Ashley perk up and she saluted.

"Aye aye ma'am!" Jane chuckled, and so did Ashley.

"I'll catch up with you later" she said before moving her way tentatively toward the Turian. This was one conversation she was not looking forward to. She wasn't quite sure what it was, but something intrigued her about this Turian, but could she handle talking to Garrus without thinking about Nihlus?


	6. Chapter 6

She wasn't quite sure why it was still bothering her. It's not like she hasn't seen or known death. In fact, Commander Shepard had known death on a first name basis for a while now. So why would it be hitting her now? She was walking toward Garrus, when the memory hit.  
Arriving at the colony was eerie. It looked like a ghost town. Shepard looked around at her unit, her very first unit. Something didn't feel right. Looking at the colony you could just picture the hustle and bustle of all the people who were going about their normal day. However, those people no longer had the chance to live. She turned around to face her unit.  
"Ok soldiers, our orders are to investigate what happened here. Jones, take company Alpha and start left. Robinson, take Beta to the right. I will take Theta down the center. Meet back here at 20:30, dismissed." Jane said.  
All they could do was search every building looking for clues as to why this colony went silent. Besides the eerie feeling that she saw from all her soldier's' eyes; time seemed to stand still. Before Jane could think straight, it was time to meet up with everyone else. "Report" she said standing tall wondering where two hours had just gone.  
"Ma'am, all buildings are empty, but it looks like whatever happened here, that the colonists were not harmed." Jones commented.  
"Yeah, that sounds about right" Jane nonchalantly replied. She thought about the dinner she saw sitting on the table of one of the bunker's she investigated. "It looks as though everyone just disappeared, or vanished" she said speculating, and continued "Grab your gear and make camp in the center of the colony for the night. Let's see what kind of ghost stories we can uncover tonight". "Aye" her company all said and saluted her. This was going to be one long night.  
Garrus noticed out of the corner of his eye that Commander Shepard was walking toward him. When he had first met the Commander on the Citadel, everything was rushed. He felt as if there was something more to this human female, something unexplainable that he just reacted to. Then he looked up at his Commander's face.

"You ok Commander?" Garrus asked looking at Shepard's pale face. Jane shook her head shaking away the memories of her first failed command. "Yeah" she said tentatively. She looked at Garrus and he cocked his head to the side. Something primal hit him. Low in his sub-harmonics he growled as a sent filled his heightened turian senses. He felt a need to protect this woman, this wasn't a cop reflex, this was a down to the plates turian primal instinct.  
Jane looked at Garrus and heard a low rumble. Knowing turians as well as she did, she picked up on it immediately. Garrus was reacting in a way that Nihlus would when she got hit on.  
Jane chuckled at the memory and display in front of her. Now it was her turn to ask, "Garrus, are you ok?"  
"I uhhh, yeah uhhh, I wanted to thank you for the uhhh chance to get off the citadel." Garrus was rubbing the back of his head. He thanked the spirits Jane couldn't hear the embarrassed sub-harmonic rumbling in his chest. He switched his weight from left to right, sighed, and continued, "I know Saren is up to something, and all that red tape, well its damned annoying." Jane cut him off.  
"Red tape is there for a reason Garrus. We can't just go snooping where our noses don't belong. You know how these things work." She said giving him her full attention. Then it hit her. Jane realized that not everyone was privy to the information that she and Nihlus were in Manus negotiations. Garrus had no idea about Nihlus, and he must have picked up what Wrex sensed too. She smiled to herself, "I should go" she said simply, and walking away.  
Garrus took one last look at Jane, and felt something he couldn't put into words. He knew that the woman who just walked away from him was amazing. Hell, he knew that on the citadel, but now? Now he would go to all lengths to get to know this human, to protect her, no matter the cost.


End file.
